Armstrong Makes Move

The American Took The First Mountain Stage And Climbed To Fourth Overall.

July 18, 2001|By Keith B. Richburg, Washington Post

PARIS -- Forget the slow start and the low overall ranking. Never mind the constant distraction of doping rumors in the international media and his almost-daily denials.

Tuesday, in the unforgiving Alps, American cyclist Lance Armstrong showed why he is the two-time defending Tour de France champion, and why he is the heavy favorite for a third consecutive win.

It was near the end of the 10th stage of the three-week race, at the final 5,280-foot climb, that Armstrong put in the most spectacular performance of this year's Tour. After trailing for the entire 130-mile stretch, Armstrong powered past his main rival, Jan Ullrich, took a huge lead and basically never looked back.

That is, he never looked back until he was close to the finish line at L'Alp d'Huez. That is when Armstrong, leading Ullrich on the closing curves, managed to steal a quick glance over his left shoulder. Armstrong -- his arms outstretched, his right fist pumping the air -- crossed the finish line 1 minute, 59 seconds ahead of Ullrich for his first stage win of the race, which ends July 29 in Paris.

The difference showed on the cyclists' faces after the mountain climbing. While Armstrong crossed the line smiling and confident; Ullrich looked haggard in the stretch.

"I'm tired," Armstrong said after his 6-hour, 23-minute and 47-second ride, "but I hope everybody else is tired, too."

With Tuesday's stage win, Armstrong, leader of the U.S. Postal team, jumped from 23rd place to fourth overall. Ullrich, leader of Deutsche Telekom and the 1997 tour winner, ended the day in seventh place. He trails Armstrong by 2:26 with 10 stages left.

Frenchman Francois Simon took the overall leader's yellow jersey away from Australian Stuart O'Grady. Armstrong's teammate, Roberto Heras, a strong Spanish climber new this year to U.S. Postal, came in 24th and is 19th overall.

And it wasn't just the stage win that seemed to cement Armstrong's position as the dominant rider; it was the way he bided his time and bluffed his opponents. As he said in a brief television interview afterward, "Telekom made the decision to set the tempo. We decided to ride more easily. . . . It was like a poker game."